Quotations take too long
See what information usually slows quotations and how to shorten turnaround.
01 · What is usually happening?
A quote needs a cost, a material rate, a lead time and sometimes a drawing check. Each of those sits with a different person, and the quote waits for the slowest answer.
The customer, meanwhile, is asking three suppliers and takes the first complete reply.
The question people usually ask“Why is the quote not out yet?”
The more useful question“Which input is the quote waiting for, and who has it?”
02 · Common causes
- 01Material rates are not kept current in one place
- 02Costing depends on one person's experience
- 03The drawing is reviewed after the enquiry, not before
- 04Lead time is guessed, not read from the plan
- 05Approval is needed for every quote, even routine ones
- 06Past quotes cannot be found to reuse
03 · What to check now0 of 6 checked
04 · What good looks like
- 01Current rates for common materials are in one sheet.
- 02A standard job is costed from a template.
- 03Routine quotes go out without waiting for the owner.
- 04Lead time comes from the live plan.
- 05Past quotes are searchable by customer and part.
- 06The time to quote is measured every month.
05 · Where this connects
This rarely stays in one department
What it can lead to: The customer takes the first complete quote, and it is not yours.
Start from a problem
Work flows left to right, top to bottomKEYMost important for manufacturing
These support every part of the business
Problem
Quotations take too long
Usually connected to
How it spreads
- Customers & Sales
What it can lead to: The customer takes the first complete quote, and it is not yours.
lamplamp could pull the latest material rate into each draft quote.
06 · Related processesCustomer order to confirmed delivery
07 · Useful toolsCalculatorQuote Exposure CheckTemplateQuotation Costing SheetCalculatorMaterial Cost Change Calculator
Related guidesRemoving owner dependency from routine discounts
08 · lamp
lamp could keep this moving
lamp is not available yet. These are things it is being built to do.
- lamp could pull the latest material rate into each draft quote.
- lamp could reuse the nearest past quote for a repeat job.
- lamp could check the margin before the quote goes out.
- lamp could tell sales which quotes are still waiting on an input.
Does your business handle this differently?Tell us what we have missed: a cause, a check, or a better way of handling it.
Suggest an addition